Cervical Cancer

NetMed, Inc., a developer and marketer of medical and health-related technologies, announced the commencement of a multicenter US clinical trial of the PAPNET cervical cancer detection system as a primary screening test for Pap smears. The

Several studies have evaluated the use of irinotecan (CPT-11 [Camptosar]), a topoisomerase inhibitor, in the treatment of refractory or recurrent cervical cancer. Various schedules have been used. Response rates have

Recent advances in research focused on identifying genetic and other markers that can predict cancer risk were reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Included in the presentations were reports of

ROCKVILLE, Md--The FDA has approved NeoPath, Inc.’s AutoPap System, an automated diagnostic system for detection of cervical cancer, for use as a primary Pap smear screen. In a prospective, intended use clinical study comprised of more than 25,000 patient slides from five clinical laboratories, AutoPap achieved greater overall accuracy in the early diagnosis of cervical disease than current practice and reduced both false-negative and false-positive test results.

Malignant diseases of the vulva account for an estimated 3% to 5% of gynecologic neoplasia. The pathologic variants are many (Table 1). Squamous cell cancers account for 85% to 90% of these neoplasms. Melanoma, Bartholin gland cancer, Paget’s disease, and the various sarcomas are the other principal neoplasms. The preinvasive forms of the squamous cancer tend to occur in younger women and may be associated with in situ lesions of the cervix, vagina, perineum, and anus.

Endometrial cancer is the most common type of female genital cancer in the United States, with an estimated 32,000 new cases and 5,600 deaths per year. During the first half of the 20th century, the incidence of cervical cancer was greater than

Invasive cancer of the uterine cervix is either the leading or second leading cause of death from cancer among women worldwide and is the leading cause of death from cancer among women in developing countries. In some developing

Therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines that harness the potential of the immune system against a number of gynecologic cancers are now being developed. The therapeutic vaccines coerce the cellular components of the

The World Health Organization (WHO) and European Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN) have

Naturally occurring variants in human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) may put infected women at differing levels of risk for

The high proportion of false negatives associated with Pap smears spurred the development of more effective collection and diagnostic techniques for cervical cells. The Pap smear, a universal standard in the detection of cervical cancer, has recently

BETHESDA, Md--A review of 10 years' experience with HIV-infected patients treated at University Hospital, Newark, NJ, revealed significantly elevated levels of several types of cancers, but a surprising dearth of invasive cervical cancers, which prompted the study's lead author to suggest dropping cervical cancer from the list of AIDS-associated malignancies.

Researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, have identified the receptor on human skin and mucosal cells that they believe allows papillomaviruses to attach to and infect those cells.

Carcinoma of the cervix is one of the most common malignancies in women, accounting for 15,700 new cases and 4,900 deaths in the United States each year. Worldwide, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer as the most common

With the introduction of increasingly effective antiretroviral agents for the management of AIDS, the life expectancy of appropriately treated patients will continue to lengthen, as will the length of time during which infected patients may develop malignancies, both HIV-related and non-HIV-related. The management of such patients will require careful consideration of the impact of all oncologic therapy on the immune system's ability to hold the virus at bay. Radiation therapy, with its recognized immunosuppressive effects, plays an important role in the management of the major AIDS-defining neoplasms, Kaposi's sarcoma, primary central nervous system lymphoma, and cervical carcinoma, and is used in approximately 50% of patients with non-HIV-related malignancies at some point in the disease course. The judicious use of radiation therapy and proper integration of aggressive antiretroviral therapy can result in control of malignancies without contributing to the rapid progression of HIV disease. [ONCOLOGY 11(5):683-694, 1997]

LOS ANGELES--Laboratory studies from the UCLA School of Medicine point to a role for myoepithelial cells in suppressing breast cancer invasion, said researcher Mark Sternlicht, PhD. Myo-epithelial cells lie between the epithelium and the basement membrane. They synthesize and maintain the basement membrane and can promote epithelial differentiation. They are found surrounding benign and nonmalignant lesions.

A study of women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), a condition that often precedes invasive cervical cancer and is linked to infection with certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), found that those with the most extensive infections also

VIENNA--A new study from the EORTC Gynecologic Cancer Cooperative Group (GCCG) has challenged the assumption that aggressive combination chemotherapy is worthwhile in chemotherapy-naïve women with metastatic squamous cell cancer of the cervix.

For women diagnosed with stage I cervical cancer during pregnancy who are torn between the desire to maintain a healthy pregnancy and the need for cancer treatment, a recent study offers hope that both desires can be achieved. The study,

WASHINGTON--For the first time since its inception in 1991, funds from the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program will flow to all 50 states in fiscal 1997, the Department of Health and Human Services announced.

Drs. Mason and Levesque thoroughly review data from intervention trials and epidemiologic studies that suggest a role for folate in preventing cancer of the colorectum and, to a lesser degree, cancers of the uterine cervix, lung, esophagus, and stomach. The authors also provide a comprehensive discussion of the possible mechanisms by which folate may prevent cancer, in particular, the relationship between folate status and DNA methylation.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass--Cytyc Corporation's ThinPrep 2000 System for cervical cancer screening has received FDA approval and is now available. The system offers an improved method of preparing Pap smears over the conventional method, leading to fewer retests due to compromised smears and potentially fewer missed abnormalities.

NEW ORLEANS--In a phase I trial from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the chemopreventive agent difluorometh-ylornithine (DFMO) produced significant regression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 3, Michele Follen Mitchell, MD, reported at the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists meeting.

Cervical cancer's slow, noticeable growth makes it "an ideal disease" for screening, but poor choices--like not getting a Pap smear or having unprotected sex as young adults--give the disease a disastrous head start, a University of Wisconsin Medical

BETHESDA, Md--Of the 4,900 US deaths each year from cervical cancer, virtually all could have been prevented by routine Pap smears, and nearly all cases could be prevented by practicing safe sex to avoid infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), a panel of independent experts appointed by the NIH said in a consensus statement.